You get the feeling that the main motivation for United to offer Rooney such a colossal deal is to finally put a lid on any future speculation of him leaving, since it’s such a recurring (and distracting) topic.

He’s been there 10 years, and they know what they have in him. For that reason I consider it a wiser investment than spending that cash on a new signing that you have to hope slots into the club and meets their lofty expectations.

The type of player Rooney is, you can see him being a top man at the club well into his thirties, which is when the deal runs until. So I don’t see a problem there, either.

On the flip side, we all know what contracts are worth in the modern game – four- and five-year deals can often be nothing more than insurance policies which ensure a player sells for x times more than if they had no more than a couple of years left.

Rooney was inches from leaving the club in 2010, and has been strongly linked with an exit since last spring. What’s to say he won’t become unhappy a third time, even after signing a lucrative extension?

You want to believe that this is a smart business move for the club; maybe it'll turn out that way.

But given Rooney’s recent history, and his tendency to rub the wrong people up the wrong way with his comments and his lifestyle... well, let's just say it leaves me fearing it will all end in tears.